Inventory precision: vitally important, but too often ignored

Inventory stock-outs drive away guaranteed purchases. At a time when the cost and effort to acquire new customers far outweighs the cost and effort to retain current customers, retailers can’t afford to miss out on these easier sales.

The root cause of stock-outs is the inability to achieve inventory accuracy. While it seems like a simple concept to identify the location of all inventory, achieving that goal is increasingly challenging in a complex omnichannel marketplace. In fact, the average retail store’s inventory accuracy is a startling low 65%, according to a recent academic study from Auburn University1 , which sets retailers up to leave significant sales on the empty table — not to mention, dissatisfied customers. Indeed 65% means that retailers are disappointing shoppers as much as 3 to 4 times out of 10. No retailer can afford that much dissatisfaction.

Digitally native competitors and demanding customers are forcing a new perspective in retail. AI and machine learning can help you step up to the challenges; and some ‘small and beautiful’ solutions can increase your conversion rates within just a few weeks.